Telephone.



L. S. & O. E. BOYCE.

TELEPHONE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 6.191s.

1,107,024. Y Patented Aug. 11,1914

.P BY

% fim ATTORNEYS UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

LAURIN S. BOYCE, OF ROCKWELL CITY, IOWA, AND OLIVER E. BOYCE, OF GLENCOE,

. MINNESOTA.

TELEPHONE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 6, 1913.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914. Serial No. 765,884.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LAURIN S. Boron and OLIVER E. Boron, both citizens of the United States, and residents, respectively, of Rockwell City, in the county of Calhoun and State of Iowa, and Glencoe, in the county of McLeod and State of Minnesota, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Telephones, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in telephones, and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of our invention is to provide a telephone having an attachment by means of which a subscriber on a party line can listen and not be heard, butwhich will permit the subscriber to talk and be heard when a button is pushed.

A further object of our invention is to provide means for cutting o it the battery current, thereby doing away with noises on the line, such as the crying of children, the playing of pianos, etc., in the listening subscribers home, while at the same time pro viding means for instantly throwing the battery on the line when the subscriber wishes to talk, and for automatically cutting oif the battery again when the receiver is replaced on the switch hook.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application in which- Figure 1 is a View of a portion of a telephone set constructed according to my invention, showing the receiver 011' the hook and the battery disconnected, Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the battery circuit closed by the push button, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the push button.

In describing the improvement we have shown only those parts that are necessary to a thorough understanding of the device.

In Fig. 1 the box or casing 1 is provided with the usual switch hook 2 which extends through an opening 3 in the box and which is designed to support the receiver R. The hook is normally pressed upon by a spring 4, and when the receiver is lifted from the hook the contacts 5 and 6 are closed. The

switch hook is provided with an upwardly extending arm 7.

Disposed above the switch hook is a pushbutton H having a stem 9 which extends through a bushing 10 and which is provided with an enlarged portion 11. A collar 9* is carried by the stem 9 and is arranged to bear against a spring contact 12 and to force it against a contact 13.

The battery B is connected on one side to the transmitter T, the latter being connected by means of the conductor 14: to the primary P of the induction coil. The opposite side of the induction coil is connected by means of the conductor 15 through the binding post 16 and conductor 31 to the spring contact 13. The spring contact 12 is connected by means of the conductor 17 through the binding post 18 to the opposite side of the battery.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device the operation there'- of may be readily understood.

Let us assume that it is desired to cut out the battery circuit so as to prevent noises from being transmitted over the line, while listening to other parties on the line. The receiver is first removed from the hook which under the influence of the spring is forced upwardly until the arm 7 comes in contact with the enlarged portion 11 on the stem of the push button. At the same time the contacts 5 and 6 are closed. The receiver is now in circuit, the current flowing from the line wire L through the binding post 18, conductor 20, binding post 21, conductor 22, secondary S of the induction coil 23, binding post 241, 25, through the receiver B, binding post 26, 27, binding post 28, contacts 5 and 6, conductor 29, binding post 30, and out on the line L. The battery circuit is open and therefore sounds cannot be transmitted. Now when it is desired to talk over the line the push button 8 is pushed inwardly thus permitting the arm 7 to enter behind the shoulder formed by the end of the large portion 11. At the same time the collar or flange 9 closes the contacts 12 and 13, thus closing the battery circuit, which has been already traced. When the conversation is over the receiver is replaced on the hook and the arm 7 is drawn downwardly thereby permitting the spring contact 12 to push the button outwardly and to break the battery circuit.

The device described above reduces the cost of operation since it permits one to listen without the battery current running down. The battery current may be switched on only when it is desired to talk, but this can be done instantly and the circuit will be locked until released by the lowering of the switch hook.

\Ve claim:

1. In a telephone, a receiver, a transmitter, a battery in circuit with said trans mitter, a pair of normally open contacts in said battery circuit, a push button having a stem provided with a collar arranged to engage one of said spring contacts to force it into engagement with the other, said stem having an enlargement, a switch hook, a pair of contacts arranged to be closed by said switch hook whenever the receiver is removed, an arm carried by said switch hook and arranged to engage the enlarged portion of the stem of the push button, the inward movement of the push button serving to close the spring contacts and to permit the arm to enter behind the enlargement thereby locking the button in position.

2. In a telephone, a receiver, a trans mitter, a battery in circuit with said transmitter, a pair of normally open contacts in said battery circuit, a push button having a stem provided with a collar arranged to engage one of said spring contacts to force it into engagement with the other, said stem having an enlargement, a spring-pressed switch hook provided with an extended rear end, a pair of contacts arranged to be closed by said extension whenever the receiver is removed, an arm carried by said switch hook and arranged to engage the enlarged portion of the stem of the push button, the inward movement of the push button serving to close the spring contacts and to permit the arm to enter behind the enlargement, thereby locking the button in position.

LAURIN S. BOYCE. OLIVER E. BOYCE. lVitnesses for Laurin S. Boyce:

Eu. V. BURCH, G. V. RICHTER. \Vitnesses for Oliver E. Boyce:

C. M. TIFFT, F. X. EICKMANN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

